Singing The News in Early Colonial Australia

Singing the News in Early Colonial Australia revives a centuries-old tradition of singing ballads as a form of news transmission. Associate Professor Una McIlvenna and PhD Candidate Madeline Sargeant will trace the journey of news ballads from European streets and marketplaces to the colonies’ streets, theatres, and newspapers.

Moving beyond the traditional narrative of the ballad as belonging to the bush, Singing the News reveals that songs were legitimate news media. But unlike other sources of news, the ballad is distinct in its ability to rouse the emotions of the listener through music. Using the technique of contrafactum – new songs set to old tunes – ballads are endowed with layers of meaning. Stories of real people, events, and places in the early colony will be performed, providing a unique opportunity both to encounter these underappreciated sources of historical knowledge and to even sing along.

---

Wellspring: Inquiry and Exchange

Bringing campus to the community, Wellspring is an exciting series of immersive events that explore new depths of cultural enquiry and exchange. A collaboration between The Street Theatre and the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, Wellspring invites Canberra’s curious to experience the inexhaustible source of human creativity and communication.